The March Top 10 Songs playlist was crazy difficult to determine because of the flood of new tracks from already dropped and upcoming anticipated album releases, including artists and bands like Kurt Vile; Yard Act; Eades; Arcade Fire; Yak; Bodega; Andrew Bird; The Smile and Gruff Rhys.
Because it’s such a challenge to pick only ten songs a month, we’re also sharing our Top 50 Indie Songs for March 2022. Check that one out too and you’ll see what we mean. Simply too much exciting and kick-ass tunes coming at us these days from all directions.
But, still, we managed to squeek out our top 10 picks from all of the songs that dropped in March. ENjoy and please share to spread some love and give us a bit of inspiration juice for further playlists.
Finally: if you really love specially-curated playlists that hit on themes from world countries and VIP names to popular holiday playlists and other themes ranging from Best Roots Rock Revival; Top 2022 Post-Punk Songs (So Far); Cover Songs playlists and many more. We’d love to have you follow and share. If just great music is all you care about, let us feed you the works we’ve labored so many years to perfect.
Without further delay, let’s dive in:
Looking to stream more kick-ass tracks dropped in March from popular indie/alt artists and bands as well as small-label, lesser-known and DIY artists/bands, fire up Best 2022 Indie/Alt Rock, Vol. III.
Don’t have a Spotify premium account and prefer to listen on YouTube?
You’re probably like a lot of us – so much music, so little time to seek out, organize, stream, like, save, etc. many of the best tracks released during March.
Even while March 2022 has arrived and passed like a blur, there were bunches and bunches of sick tracks dropped.
This playlist contains a lot of new and ‘revival’ post-punk indie/alt. The explosion in popularity of bands like Yard Act and Fontaines D.C., to name just a few, has resulted in a glowing river of new (from the old) post-punk sounds – mostly from relatively new, and unknown (but why?) bands from the U.K. and Ireland (where post-punk originally spawned 40 years ago from the ashes of the rather brief wave of popularity in punk rock).
Plus, there are a bunch of fresh tracks from well-known, veteran indie/alt artists as well as the buzz bands of the moment.
Also, don’t miss our still-popular Top 10 Indie Songs playlists – dropped every month of the year.
Almost two decades before achieving worldwide status as ‘the new Hitler’ with the slaughter of civilians in neighboring Ukraine, Vladamir Putin had an interesting meeting with Paul McCartney.
The world-famous musician was invited by Putin back in 2003 to perform in Moscow’s Red Square on May 24th; an invitation McCartney accepted.
According to the BBC’s reporting of that day, “McCartney and his wife Heather took tea in the Kremlin with President Putin.”
Russian musician Sasha Lipnitsky said that The Beatles were the ‘first hole in the iron curtain.’
Putin, who was a KGB agent in east Berlin when The Beatles were top of the charts around the world, told McCartney that The Beatles had been ‘a breath of fresh air’ during Soviet times even though it was officially ‘considered propaganda of an alien ideology.’
While The Beatles’ music was not banned by the Communist regime, Putin revealed, he did comment to McCartney: “the fact that you were not allowed to play in Red Square in the 1980s says a lot.”
Afterwards, McCartney said he gave a private performance of The Beatles’ song “Let It Be” for Putin. (He probably wouldn’t do that today even though Putin should just ‘let it be’)
In the former Soviet Union, when Western music was banned and music, in general, was heavily regulated, Russians would go to extreme lengths to get their hands on records that were cleverly copied onto x-ray films.
In 2013, McCartney openly appealed to Putin to release six Brits who were imprisoned in Russia for taking part in a Greenpeace demonstration. Watch that report on YouTube.
Sync your diaries everybody, this is no April fools joke, the UK’s National Album Day really is returning on Saturday 15 Oct with ‘debut albums’ the theme for the proceedings.
It’s the fifth year that record industry trade group BPI and the Entertainment Retailers Association have staged the annual event to celebrate the album format, with support from sponsor Bowers & Wilkins and media partner BBC Sounds.
BPI boss Geoff Taylor and ERA chief Kim Bayley say in a joint statement: “Artists love telling their stories through the artform of the album and fans love to listen, but in a world where there is more streaming of individual songs, we take the appeal of the album format for granted.
National Album Day is about celebrating the continuing vitality and cultural relevance of the long player, in particular with the next generation of fans, and we invite everyone who loves the format to join in and enjoy this year’s National Album Day”.
Meanwhile, focusing on this year’s specific theme, Giles Pocock, VP Brand Marketing at Bowers & Wilkins, adds: “The debut album is an important milestone for any artist and remains such a pure form of storytelling.
Everything from the track order and artwork, through to the arrangements and choice of recording studio can feel like a big decision. We are pleased to continue our support for National Album Day, helping to celebrate those truly great debut albums that made their own rules and brought something truly unique into the world”.
Hans Williams is a twenty-year-old songwriter from Vermont who is an artist to watch thanks to a number of heartfelt tracks and a promising future in music.
This is shown specifically in Williams’ 2020 mini-hit DIY single, “Body On My Shoulders”. This song was written about a tragic experience Williams had.
His latest track, “All Is Well,” is, in a sense, a follow-up to “Body on My Shoulders.”
Williams wrote the latter as a way to process the suicide of his roommate who Williams was the first to discover.
The newer track, he says, is about “the period of time before I felt ready to have those conversations – before I realized what real catharsis lay behind the barrier of opening up.”
“This song is about the fear and guilt I dealt with after the fact”, Williams explains in an Instagram post.
“The completion of this song in a way feels like I’ve let some of that guilt and fear go. I hope it can do the same for anyone dealing with tragedy”.
As a result, he is receiving many messages from individuals who connect with the song through a similar experience.
In response to these conversations, Williams notes that he feels validated upon hearing that others face similar tragedies and respond in the same way that he has.
PHILADELPHIA, Penn. – Indie rock artist Kurt Vile has been teasing his upcoming new album – (watch my moves) – with a couple of single drops lately.
His latest is the pensive, flashback track, “Mount Air Hill (Way Gone),” where we see Vile deliver a reminising vocal croon together with light guitars mixed to a laid-back groove.
The just-dropped revealing new video depicts a wandering Vile coming to terms with himself and his past as he skateboards through Mount Airy Hill‘s streets and experiences hallucinations in the woods. His childhood hometown is a suburb of Philadelphia.
The video and single follow the release of “Like A Child” earlier this month and “Like Exploding Stones” in February, coinciding with the announcement of the album.
It’s hard to believe that the otherwise prolific multi-instrumentalist, singer and producer last released new material in 2018 with the album Bottle In. The new album, his ninth, is set for release on April 15 via Verve Records – his first release with the label.
In a statement regarding the DIY-produced album – recorded in Vile’s home studio known as OKV Central – Vile writes: “When Waylon Jennings became an outlaw country artist, he liked to record at Hillbilly Central, which was Tompall Glaser’s studio. OKV Central is my version of that in Mount Airy.
“I’ve come into my own here, and at the same time I’m getting back to my home-recording roots.”
Vile and his band will kick-off a multiple-city tour across the U.K. and Ireland beginning August 26 at London’s All Points East festival.
The Weather Station’s How Is It That I Should Look At The Stars is an album that is thoughtful, insightful and stunning. Compared to previous albums by the folk-indie artist, this release is more simplistic in which instruments it focuses on, making the lyrics the main attraction.
Unlike All of It Was Mine or The Weather Station, the piano in this album replaces multi-instrumental songs that were previously included such as banjos, fingerpicking acoustic guitars, drums and synths.
Tamara Lindeman’s voice is quieter, more subdued— almost parallel to Linda Perhacs’ feathered voice in “Chimacum Rain.” Staying within folk tradition, Lindeman’s lyrics focus on expansive stories with nature and animal motifs.
“Taught” feels like a piano is slowly trickling in, with Lindeman’s angelic voice taking center stage. This track is dramatic and all-feeling. It’s one of those rare songs that is both deeply emotional and touching, completely enthralling you in its rarity.
“Endless Time” is vocally reminiscent of Fiona Apple and Florence and the Machine. Lyrics such as “Lemons and persimmons in the December rain” are sweet and thoughtful, although sung with deep pain.
“Ignorance” tries to find meaning as it reaches out for an answer. The piano almost thuds with quick sincerity and a flute-like instrument plays in the background. This track lyrically showcases a deep connection to nature and the wrestling of the categorization of animals by human bearers.
“Sway” exemplifies a variance in tone, as the lyrics “I move too” is followed by a higher pitch vocally as well as instrumentally. The song is upbeat, yet ethereal. It is reminiscent of Neko Case’s “Star Witness” in buildup and subtle sound, specifically in how certain vocals are carried out.
Lindeman’s intelligent lyrics and melancholic sound, particularly within this album, mark deeper mysteries not yet finished. Details from the environment are picked up and carried out to meet the listener’s ear. Taking with it, sorrows of earlier times, and earlier lovers.
Scottish indie band Belle & Sebastian have shared new audio and video for the single “If They’re Shooting At You” to raise money for Ukraine‘s victims of war.
The band hired photographers in Ukraine covering the conflict in order to create a “visual collage” set to the music of the single.
“We got in touch with various photographers and creatives in Ukraine and they generously said that we could put their pictures to music. In creating this we aspire to show a hopeful, defiant side, as well as bringing an awareness to the plight of the people there.”
According to frontman Stuart Murdoch, all revenues generated from the song and video, including streaming, digital sales, and publishing royalties will be sent to the Red Cross‘ disaster relief efforts in Ukraine and for Ukrainian refugees in countries around the world. One of those services is called Restoring Family Links, where Red Cross will attempt to reconnect family members who’ve lost communication due to the war.
Murdoch asks people who want to help to send a donation to the UK Red Cross or any trusted organization working with Ukrainian war victims. Never give money to an organization you’ve never heard of, especially if they contact you directly out of the blue.
“The band had just started rolling out tracks for our new album, and it all felt a bit silly to be honest. We had one track called ‘If They’re Shooting At You’, it’s a song about being lost, broken and under threat of violence. The key line is: ‘If they’re shooting at you kid you must be doing something right’.”
Other musicians and bands involved in Ukrainian aid relief efforts include Elton John, Nick Cave, Arcade Fire, Iggy Pop, Green Day, Franz Ferdinand along with a growing list of others.
Belle & Sebastian’s 10th studio album, A Bit Of Previous, is set to be released on May 10th.
Indie rock trailblazers Arcade Fire have dropped their first new track in five years, “The Lightning I,II,” from the upcoming new album, We, set to drop on May 6th.
The song was first debuted Monday night at a Ukraine benefit concert in New Orleans.
For their first official single in almost five years (“Generation A” was played for a special Stephen Colbert Election Night 2020), fans received a postcard containing the sheet notes to the song’s effervescent riff.
Interesting, the release follows a M.O. from the band over the years where new single releases come in pairs, like “Sprawl I, II” from The Suburbs (2010), or in sequences like “Neighbourhood #1, #2, #3, #4” from AR’s break-through debut album, Funeral (2004). The new double-single release is likely to please long-time AR fans – it’s ambitious, sprawling, and true-to-form. About the new tracks, NME wrote: “[Like] the band’s second album, 2007’s Neon Bible , there are quick dashes of the uncertain spirituality that has long lurked in frontman Win Butler’s lyrics.
He sings that “Jesus Christ was an only son” and that the “voices in the sky” – as well as a bolt of light – could lead them to some kind of salvation. The message, as ever, is somewhat murky, but you sense that they definitely want you along for the ride.
Parallels to Neon Bible’s noirish thrill are apt – ‘(Antichrist Television Blues)’, anyone? – but the song’s success is built on the band’s consistently concise and inventive melodies. The twinkling piano motif that guides the tracks, even though the punkish ‘The Lightning II’, is a continuation of their elite songwriting'”
Then there’s ‘Rabbit Hole’
Earlier this week, fan footage of a new Arcade Fire song, “Rabbit Hole,” emerged online after the band performed at a Ukraine benefit concert in New Orleans.
The new track was performed along with other new tracks like “Age of Anxiety” and “The Lightning I, II.” The concert was also live-streamed on Instagram and Tik-Tok.
The band performed ‘Rabbit Hole’ alongside other new cuts “The Lightning I, II” and “Age of Anxiety” at a Ukraine benefit concert in New Orleans earlier this week.
However, “Rabbit Hole” was not – the stream went down before the track was performed – so this is sort of a rare treat from a fan shot of the track as it played live.
The song borrows elements from “Memories Of The Age of Anxiety,” a 45-minute instrumental ambient track AR released for a meditation app last year. The version the band performed live features vocals from frontman Win Butler.
The post-pandemic creative bubble continues to burst and expand outwards (think big bang theory) as a sleuth of excellent new video singles flows non-stop into its own tributary, along with the best 2022 indie albums; audio singles, and special compilations.
In This Installment:
Wet Leg – Isle of Wright, England – “Angelica” PUP – Toronto, Ontario – “Matilda” Sadurn – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – “Golden Arm” Magdalena Bay – Miami, Florida – “Dreamcatching” Denzel Curry Ft. Slowthai – Miami, Florida – “Zatoichi”
Wet Leg – “Angelica” 5
It’s hard not to like Wet Leg. There is something about their dedication to indie rock and to not taking themselves too seriously which has caught on in the ‘wider-realm’ (if you will). This recent video for “Angelica” has racked up more than a half million views on this official YouTube version alone in just two weeks. And that’s because it’s dope. The band’s self-titled album is set to drop April 8th on Domino Records.
Last month Philadelphia indie rock band Sadurn announced their debut album, Radiator, set to drop in May via Run For Cover.
The new band, led by Genevieve DeGroot, shared a lead single, “Snake,” followed up with this chill wavy track, “Golden Arm.”
DeGroot says about the song and the accompanying video:
“I wrote this song at the same time as ‘snake’ while doing a work exchange on a homestead in North Carolina. It kind of all came out at once, which feels like this lucky occasion when you’re writing songs. I didn’t think much of it in its initial form, it felt like more of a poem than a story.”
“But playing it with the band for the first time, and then later adding the synth and the slide guitar and coming up with the harmonies when we made the recordings, all those layers really brought it into a different special realm. The video came about very serendipitously when Amelia and I were on a road trip back in the Fall with another friend. We found this amazing camping spot and decided to shoot a video on Amelia’s camcorder – the landscape there really felt like it fit with the song.
Radiator drops May 6th via Run For Cover.
Cover/feature photo above by Kevin PG Perry
PUP – “Matilda” 4
Indie veterans PUP have unveiled a new music flick for the track “Matilda” off of The Unravelling of PupTheBand.
Jeff Cubbison puts it best; calling the video “crafted in a more old school vein, tracing the touching journey of a cool-ass guitar through multiple owners. It’s a heart-on-your-sleeve story from a kick-ass, heart-on-your-sleeve kinda band. The director credit goes to Jefferson Dutton.
Magdalena Bay – “Dreamcatching”
The DIY video gods aren’t so DIY anymore which will allow Magdalena Bay to increase their artistic approach like on the latest video clip, “Dreamcatching,” “a spectacular, eye-popping animated odyssey that needs to be seen to be believed. If there’s any justice, then this should have the VMA for Video of the Year in the bag,” writes Impose.
Denzel Curry Ft. Slowthai – “Zatoichi”
Denzel Curry has dropped yet another music video single from the upcoming album Melt My Eyes See Your Future . The previously-dropped “Walkin” was a grandiose experiment in the sub-sub-genre space western style, while “Zatoichi” stands as “an ode to old-school samurai flicks.”
“The kaleidoscopic, psychedelic unraveling during Slowthai’s amen break-filled verse is the stuff of cinematic magic,” writes Jeff Cubbison for Impose magazine.
Baltimore dream pop duo Beach House’s new album, Once Twice Melody , continues to chart, a week after scoring their first No.1 and the biggest-selling album in the country, according to Billboard.
We don’t usually mention Billboard on this blog, but this is one case where an exception is not only appropriate, but warranted thanks to the big, dreamy, soft hugs on the 18-song, double album (just wish it had a better album cover) that is Once Twice Melody .
The rockstar-duo of keyboardist/vocalist Victoria Legrand and guitarist, keyboardist, and backup vocalist Alex Scally, have nailed a dream-pop/shoegaze sound and style that is the music of angels, blue skiies and soft rolling green hills.
Yeah, maybe corny, but who gives a fuck? They craft gorgeous, beautiful, dreamy, melodic, soaring, etc. music on one track after another for more than a decade now.
During that same time, BH has gradually gained the ear and respect of many top musicians in various genres.In fact, Kayne West is reportedly in the studio with BH right now. (West actually gave Indie Rock Cafe a huge boost back in 2009 when he gave some love, and a link, to IRC on his blog.)
It was four years ago when Baltimore indie duo Beach House dropped their last album – the epic, blockbuster simply titled 7, marking BH’s seventh studio album.
A number of critics have called 7 BH’s best album to date, which is a remarkable statement when you consider the quality of albums like Bloom, Depresson Cherry and Devotion. They may need to update such declarations based on the band’s latest release.
From all indicators, Once Twice Melody, is on its way to matching or out-doing critics’ and fans’ existing or previously-favorite BH album – as scandalous as it is to say around Beach House super fans who came of age in the past decade-plus.
Indie rock trailblazers Arcade Fire have dropped their first new track in five years, “The Lightning I,II,” from the upcoming new album, We, set to drop on May 6th.
